Songkran Festival › Songkran in Hat Yai
Hat Yai Midnight Songkran 2027
Hat Yai, the largest city in the south, holds a Songkran that goes on until midnight: in 2026 the water play ran from midday to midnight for four days, with huge crowds driving up from Malaysia and Singapore. Here is what happened, the border, the safety picture and where to stay for 2027. Checked 24 Oct 2026.
At a glance
Songkran 2027
Public holidays Tue 13 to Thu 15 April 2027. Days off and bridge-day watch
Midnight Songkran (2026)
10 to 13 April, water play from midday to midnight (being checked)
Where
Niphat Uthit 3 Road and Thamnunvithi Road, around Odean Junction (being checked)
From Malaysia
The Sadao checkpoint handled more than 36,000 crossings over 10 to 12 April 2026
2027
Not announced The dates, streets and line-up
Where to splash
The city centre is the main event; the border town and the beach have their own. Details are from 2026; each card will switch to 2027 when Songkhla announces its programme.
City centre · free
Hatyai Midnight Songkran
Hat Yai’s downtown streets turn into one long water fight, with a foam party and what the organisers called the biggest EDM festival in southern Thailand. More than 200 free 200-litre water tanks were set out around the zone (being checked).
2026: 10–13 April, from midday to midnight (being checked). Main zone: Niphat Uthit 3 and Thamnunvithi roads at Odean Junction (being checked). A 200-litre tank with a sack of ice sold for about 500 baht (being checked).
Getting there: Walk in from the city-centre hotels. The streets around Odean Junction fill up from the afternoon.
2027 not announced
Sources: Pattaya Mail, from TAT, Khaosod English
Sadao · free
Dan Nok, at the border
The border town just inside Thailand from Malaysia holds its own Songkran, and many visitors from Malaysia stay here before moving on to Hat Yai.
2026: 10–14 April (being checked).
Getting there: Dan Nok is in Sadao district by the Sadao checkpoint, south of Hat Yai.
2027 not announced
Sources: Khaosod English
Songkhla town · free
Samila Beach
Songkhla’s beachfront events, a calmer change from the downtown crowd (being checked).
2026: The province listed Samila Beach alongside Hat Yai and Sadao as a Songkran venue in 2026 (being checked).
Getting there: Samila Beach is in Songkhla town, a drive from Hat Yai.
2027 not announced
Sources: Pattaya Mail
Border · travel
Crossing at Sadao
If you are driving up from Malaysia, expect queues. About 13,000 people crossed at Sadao on 10 April 2026, and the next day the queue stretched 4 to 5 km back into Malaysia (being checked).
2026: More than 36,000 crossings at Sadao over 10 to 12 April, by the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s count.
Getting there: Cross early in the morning, or a day before the festival starts.
2027 not announced
Sources: Tourism Authority of Thailand, Khaosod English
The 2026 programme
Four days, until midnight
Bangkok’s water streets stop at 21:00 or 22:00; Hat Yai keeps going until midnight. In 2026 it ran for four days, 10 to 13 April, starting before the national holidays (being checked).
It was also a comeback year: Hat Yai was flooded in late 2025, and local businesses said trade was only starting to recover when the festival opened (being checked).
The 2027 programme has not been announced. Sign up below and we will email you when it is.
10–13 Apr Free
Hatyai Midnight Songkran, midday to midnight
Hat Yai city centre
10–14 Apr Free
Dan Nok Songkran (being checked)
Samnak Kham, Sadao
10–15 Apr
Province-wide Songkran period (being checked)
Sadao, Hat Yai and Songkhla town
13–15 Apr
National Songkran holidays
All of Thailand
Sources: Pattaya Mail, from TAT, Khaosod English, Pattaya Mail.
Hat Yai’s Songkran in numbers
Counts and estimates from 2026.
500,000+
people over the four days of Midnight Songkran (being checked)
36,000+
crossings at the Sadao border checkpoint, 10 to 12 April
About 80%
average hotel occupancy in Songkhla province over Songkran
200+
free 200-litre water tanks put out by the city (being checked)
Sources: Pattaya Mail, from the National News Bureau, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Khaosod English. Before the festival, hotels in Hat Yai were already 70% booked (being checked).
Rules and safety
Is Hat Yai safe for Songkran?
The UK government advises against all but essential travel to Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat and to four districts of southern Songkhla (Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi), and to the Hat Yai to Padang Besar railway. Hat Yai city is not on that list (UK travel advice, checked 24 Oct 2026). Check your own government’s advice and your insurance before you go.
During the festival the city ran a security command centre (being checked), and the province checked prices to stop overcharging (being checked). National rules and fines are in our water fight guide.
Check your insurance
Many policies don’t cover areas your government advises against. Hat Yai itself is outside the UK’s list; the far south is not.
Skip the scooter
Songkran 2026’s seven danger days saw 242 road deaths across Thailand, and motorcycles were in 64.55% of accidents on the last day (Road Safety Command Center via Thai PBS).
Late nights, wet streets
The water runs until midnight. Keep your phone and passport sealed, and plan your way back to the hotel.
Medical emergency
Call 1669.
Where to stay in Hat Yai for Songkran
The festival is downtown and runs late, so a city-centre hotel means no taxi hunt at midnight.
Hat Yai city centre
Walk to Odean Junction and back at midnight. The busiest choice, and the first to fill.
Sadao and Dan Nok
By the border, for visitors driving from Malaysia; Hat Yai is a drive north.
The links open Klook’s full Hat Yai hotel list; search by area or use the map to narrow it. We may earn a commission if you book; it costs you nothing extra and never decides what we list. Before Songkran 2026 Hat Yai hotels were 70% booked and Samnak Kham hotels 80% (being checked).
Questions people ask
When is Hat Yai Midnight Songkran 2027?
Not announced yet. In 2026 it ran from 10 to 13 April. The national holidays in 2027 are Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April.
Why is it called Midnight Songkran?
Because the water play goes on from midday until midnight, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Where is the water fight in Hat Yai?
In the city centre. In 2026 the main zone was Niphat Uthit 3 Road and Thamnunvithi Road around Odean Junction, according to Khaosod English.
Is Hat Yai safe to visit?
The UK government advises against all but essential travel to the far south and four districts of southern Songkhla, but not to Hat Yai city. Check your own government’s advice and your insurance.
How busy is the Sadao border at Songkran?
Very. The Tourism Authority of Thailand counted more than 36,000 crossings at Sadao over 10 to 12 April 2026.
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